Distinguished Lecture Series: Pamela Geller | An Archeology of Plastics: From Small Things Forgotten to the Synthetic Revolution

Join us for our Distinguished Lecture Series featuring Pamela Geller.

Professor of Anthropology, University of Miami

Small plastic things forgotten, to riff on historical archaeologist James Deetz, are born from scientific innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. As a case study, I consider the ubiquitous though taken for granted polyethylene T-shirt bag. Low-cost, convenience, and durability are some reasons it is accorded utilitarian value. But at what price, in what kind of conditions, and for how long? In answer, I track the lifecycle of this plastic artifact, “excavating” backwards from landfill (or incinerator) to recycling facility to storage space to factory floor. This contextualization reveals typological attributes and degradation processes that refute commonsensical narratives, most of which have been industry generated, about the plastic bag’s harmlessness and inevitability.

Beyond description, analysis of small plastic things forgotten also invites us to draw inferences about the human condition as it has unfolded from the early 20th century onward. An archaeology of plastics—not just of polyethylene bags but also of Bakelite buttons, nylon stockings, PET bottles, red Solo cups, dental floss picks, etc.—certainly evidences the Plastic Age, as prior writers have remarked. Here I argue for plastics as the catalyst of a more sweeping Synthetic Revolution. Relationally speaking, what attributes does this revolution share with prior ones (i.e., Neolithic, Urban, Industrial), and how is it distinctive? There is also a sense of evolution in the revolution. Does the Synthetic Revolution’s radical transformation of societies, ontologies, ecosystems, and species herald progress or retrogress? Or does the linearity of cultural evolutionary logic prove inadequate for understanding life on a damaged planet?

Doors open at 4:15 pm. Presentation will start at 4:30 pm.